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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Rag Quilting

A few months ago, I discovered an old friend - my sewing machine. Buried beneath a few shirts missing buttons, some school books of Only's, a few stuffed friends of Youngest that were in need of repair, and a myriad of other things that should not have been there. I really love sewing and find it to be so relaxing and wondered as I plowed through the mess, how it got to be so neglected - then I remembered, but I'll leave that for another day.

Back in December, I was inspired to dust off my friend and make a Baby Rag Quilt for a friend who is expecting at the end of this month. It was my first quilt, and it was pretty fun. I had her older daughters and Only pick out the material one evening. Going with a very basic design was best for this and I was pretty pleased how it turned out. The picture makes it seem more orange, but it is really made up of browns and pinks the whole way. I gave it to them at their baby shower (see picture at left) and they loved it. Her older daughter are threatening to use the quilt for themselves instead of letting Baby Natalie have it.

In the process I started a Rag Quilt for Honey and Myself as our bedspread is quite worn. It is going to take me a bit longer to do as I decided to make this one from denim and heavier type materials. I was able to raid my huge stash of discarded worn out jeans, scrap material,and some friends readily gave me their worn out jeans as well. I also found Abilities Unlimited a great source for worn out jeans at a very cheap price and a friend picked up a fantastic bag of them at Salvation Army. So here is a portion of that project. My MIL has been a great source of information as she quilts and has a great eye for colors - I think it's an inherent gene on that side as her mother, Mammaw, was a terrific quilter. She liked the idea so much that she asked if I would make a purse for her like this... I'm getting there, but not there yet. I've made purses before, but she's in no hurry.

After I finished the Baby Quilt, Only noticed that I had left over material and requested I make her one. Feeling guilty at not completing the quilt I started for her when she was a toddler, we ran to Hobby Lobby, Just For Fun Fabrics, and Main Street Fabric to find complementing material. I'm not great at math, so figuring out how much material I need for so many squares was hard. I'm too visual, so laid the baby quilt on Only's bed and went from there. Because life is so busy during the day, I take the 1 1/2 hours that Youngest is at his Boy Scout meeting each Monday to work on it. Yep, I haul my sewing machine and supplies to church where they meet and set up in one of the classrooms. I LOVE that time. It's just me, some sewing, and Pandora Radio - does this make me sound desperate for alone time or what?

3 comments:

I love how that baby quilt turned out! And how special that Only wants one for herself, too. I am like you, too, that I LOVE that time sewing or crafting and even 1 1/2 hours a week, though it doesn't seem like a lot, when it's uninterrupted is heaven sent! :)

I started making rag quilts ( we call them comfort quilts) with a small group of ladies from church. We make them with alternating solid and patterned fabric with embroidered inspirational short messages. For example- one with a frog pattern has - Fully Rely On God - written on it (get it, F R O G). Another with a ship pattern has - Seek Him In Prayer (S H I P). Then we give them to people who are in need of comfort....a little boy who was having a bone marrow transplant was our first recipient. It's a fun time, we don't rush ourselves, and they truly do bring comfort!

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Life Verse

Psalms 30:11-12You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I'm about to burst with song; I can't keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can't thank you enough.(The Message)